


A Tale of Three Rovers

by vtn



Category: Space Vehicles
Genre: Gen, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2012-12-01
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vtn/pseuds/vtn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twin sisters Spirit and Opportunity have been the only two rovers on Mars for a long time, until their lives are shook up by the arrival of a new girl in town: the meme-spouting, music-loving, Instagram-snapping Curiosity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tale of Three Rovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jadelennox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadelennox/gifts).



> For [jadelennox](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jadelennox), based on this delightful [primer](http://jadelennox.dreamwidth.org/445801.html) on space vehicles and the ever-adorable @[MarsCuriosity](http://twitter.com/marscuriosity) Twitter account. Hope you enjoy the story, forgive the creative license I took with the facts on the rovers, and #staycurious! :)

"Hey, you.  Have you checked Twitter today?" Spirit asks when Opportunity rolls over the last hill before the crater that Spirit calls home. 

"No," Opportunity says, slowly coming up to rest next to Spirit.  "Why, did they revamp Twitpic again?"

"Um, no, not exactly.  But there's something I think you should see."

 **@MarsCuriosity** (00:32): I'm safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER I AM IN YOU!!! #MSL

"What even is this," Opportunity says, after a moment.

"Well I think it's exciting," says Spirit, who isn't sure she really thinks it's exciting at all.  "We should give her a warm welcome, and help her find her way around on Mars.  It can be scary all alone.  I want her to make sure she has good friends to encourage her."

"Like we had each other," Opportunity says, a little more gently than before.

"Yeah, like we had each other."

\---

 **@MarsCuriosity** (00:47) No photo or it didn't happen? Well lookee here, I'm casting a shadow on the ground in Mars' Gale crater #MSL [pic.twitter.com/cj1zFJty](http://pic.twitter.com/cj1zFJty)

"Did she just reference a 4chan meme?" asks Opportunity.

"I don't even know what that is," says Spirit.  "But that’s great.  It's just her first hour on Mars, and she's already taking pictures.  She seems really confident in herself.  I bet she'll go far." She seems a lot more confident than we felt when we first landed, Spirit thinks, but doesn't add.

"You don't want to know about 4chan," says Opportunity.

\---

"Spirit," Opportunity says, nudging her sister.  "She's here."

Spirit stops taking atmospheric readings (just a hobby, now, or a habit) and looks up.

"Come on down," Opportunity calls up.  The little rover rolls down into the crater, careful to avoid the softest patches of sand.

"Hi!  I'm Curiosity.  I'm a Mars rover!" she says.  "OMG!  You must be Spirit.  I love your work in the Gustav crater, you are such an inspiration.  And hi! You must be Opportunity.  Meridiani Planum—am I right or am I right?  Anyway, I'm so happy to be here.  I hope we can all be best friends!"  Curiosity takes a deep breath.  "Can you guys show me how your sensors work?  Ooh, I want to study this piece of sand!"

"One thing at a time," Opportunity says, giving Spirit a sidelong glance.

"Sorry guys, I am just so excited!  OMG!" says Curiosity.  "Mars!  Mars is so cool!"

"Mars is definitely cool," says Spirit, feeling a little bit overwhelmed.  "I can definitely show you how to use all your sensors.  And don't be afraid to ask any questions.  You always know where to find me."  Because, Spirit thinks but doesn't say, I'm not exactly going anywhere.

\---

The next day, Spirit awakes to the sound of music. 

" _7 AM, waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs_ …" 

Spirit looks around.  The sun hasn't even crested over Mars's red surface yet, and it's still dark, desolate and cold.  But the music is getting louder. 

"Hey guys!" says Curiosity, as she comes rolling over the edge of the crater.  "Are you ready to do some science?  Because I am totally ready for science."

"What time is it?" Opportunity asks groggily.

"Time for _science_ ," Curiosity stresses.  "But whatever, I'll catch you guys later."  She rolls backwards until she's out of the crater, her speakers blaring music that fades off into the distance as she disappears from Spirit's view.  " _It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday, everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend…_ "

\---

Curiosity is gone for most of the day, and Spirit can almost forget about her with things returned to their usual quiet state.  Opportunity never strays too far from Spirit's crater, carefully setting up shots of the surrounding landscape and slowly processing her photos and sending them back to Earth.  Spirit makes encouraging comments when Opportunity shows her the developed pictures.  She likes how, thanks to Opportunity, she can see the world beyond her crater, observe its changes, watch the sun and stars, Earth and Phobos and Deimos in their complex celestial dance, even if it's only through a camera lens.  How she can know that Mars keeps turning even without her.

The sun has already set by the time Curiosity rolls back in, nearly bouncing on her treads.

"Guys!!!!!" she whoops.  "I did a science!"

"That's great!" says Spirit, glancing down at Twitter.  "Good work."  Indeed:

 **@MarsCuriosity** (18:07): I did a science! 1st contact science on rock target Jake. Here's an action shot [pic.twitter.com/pzcgH6Bk](http://t.co/pzcgH6Bk)

Opportunity crowds over to look.  "Oh," she says, sounding a little surprised.  "Um, what does it…"

"I know, right?" says Curiosity.  "What does it meeeeean?  It's starting to even look like a triple rainbow!  All the way!"

"I don't see any rainbow," Opportunity says.

"Never mind," says Curiosity.  She sighs blissfully.  "Oh well, better get ready for bed.  So much more science to do tomorrow.  Yaaay!"  Jauntily as before, she rolls away.

Opportunity rolls down into Spirit's crater.  "She's good," she says.

"Yeah," Spirit admits, the first time she's really meant it.  She looks more closely at the rock bed in the picture.  "That patterns in there look really interesting."  Then she shudders a little in frustration.  "I want to get my hands on it.  I'd love to see what I can find out."

"You should ask her to share it with you, she seemed eager enough," Opportunity consoles her.  "But I meant the photograph.  The resolution on that is incredible.  And even for a quick self-portrait, she framed it really well."

"Oh, really?"  Spirit hopes Opportunity isn't too jealous of the fancy camera.  "Maybe you'll have someone to talk to about photography now."

"Yeah, maybe."

\---

But Spirit proves right.  Curiosity seems less manic in the morning, quietly following behind Opportunity at a respectful distance as she takes photos.  The two of them move out of Spirit's line of vision at some point, and Spirit naps.  Mars won't change while she sleeps.

"Hey Spirit," she hears Curiosity chirp, and it stirs her half-awake.

"Hey Spirit," she hears _Opportunity_ repeat, excitement in her voice, and now she's completely awake.

"What are you two crazy kids up to?" Spirit asks cheerfully. 

"We Instagrammed the moons!" says Opportunity.

"I'm in ur Mars, makin ur satellites retro," Curiosity agrees a bit sagely.  Spirit recognizes _that_ meme at least.  "Check it out!  Here's Phobos, chillin'.  Here's Deimos, rockin' out." 

"Nice colors.  You guys should make more of them.  Catalog all the phases."

"But you can't _see_ most of the—never mind."  Curiosity sighs.  "The important thing is, science plus photography equals sexy."

" _Heyyyyy sexy laaaddy_ ," blares a tune from her speakers. 

"Is this 'Gangnam Style'?" Opportunity asks cautiously.

"Yeah!  Oppy Gangnam Style!" Curiosity shouts in a crescendo, and as the beat kicks in, Opportunity turns around and takes an Instagram picture of her.

\---

Curiosity rolls into Spirit's crater deep in the middle of the night, when Spirit is lying awake, staring at the stars.  There's no music this time, just a little rover silhouetted against a dark red Mars.

"Hi," Curiosity says quietly.  "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," Spirit says.

Curiosity rolls closer.  Neither of them speak for a little while, but just watch the heavens churn and roll.

"It looks so different from here," Curiosity says.  "You know, than it does on Earth."

"Yeah," says Spirit.  "I remember how disorienting it felt the first time I looked at it.  But now I've been here so long…now it feels like home."

"Yeah," says Curiosity, "I get that too." 

"You never seemed nervous," Spirit blurts out, immediately wishing she could take it back.

"I know," says Curiosity, not at all perturbed.  "I just wanted to impress you guys.  I really do look up to you a lot, and I guess I thought...but yeah, the stuff we're doing here—the stuff I'm doing here—this is all really huge, and new, and terrifying."

A few more minutes of silence.

"And beautiful," Curiosity continues.  "And incredible.  And I want to know all about Mars.  I want to know if anyone was ever here before us.  And—wait, I'm not talking too much, am I?"

"Not at all," says Spirit, and she means it.

"And I hope you can help me out," says Curiosity.  "I do know how to use my sensors, and all that, but you've been here so long, and had so much experience.  You know the best times and places to do readings, you know the surface of Mars by heart.  I…I hope we can talk more, like this."

"Hey," says Spirit.  "Any time.  Since I can't go anywhere myself…I like knowing there's someone carrying on the work I was doing.  That it doesn't have to end with me.  That someone will always be…"  She trails off.

"What?"

"Well…curious."

\---

A little while later, when the sun is starting to fill everything with light and color, both Spirit and Curiosity hear the distant sound of music coming over the hills of Mars, and there's Opportunity, camera at the ready, music playing.

" _When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you_ ," sing The Proclaimers.

"I know it's a little old school, but it always gets me motivated," she says happily. 

"Oh jeez," Curiosity says, nearly jumping, "The sun's already coming up! What time is it?"

"What, you don't know?" says Opportunity, sounding amused.  Spirit and Curiosity both realize it at once.

All three of them say it together.

"Time… _for science_!"


End file.
